Re: Laptops which run Arch

Acer 7560G

Works with Arch Linux, runs into troubles with some other distros.

The problem is the GPU:- The catalyst driver causes crashes (or at least it did the last time I tried it).- Recent open-source drivers work well.- Older open-source drivers give problems for dual-screen, due to a low maximum resolution.- The oldest open-source drivers still in use (e.g. on Debian stable) just give a black screen on the laptop.

Re: Laptops which run Arch

Gateway LU311 netbook

atlon 64 1.2GHz; 2Gb RAM; 250Gb HDD; ATI Graphics

Everything works with x86_64 that I've tested so far. Only hiccup was with X dumping after a bit with the ATI OSS driver, fixed by adding xf86-input-synaptics. Not sure how they're related but that's the only change I made and now it's good.

Running: x86_64 with Testing, using Ratpoison as WM when I need one (libreoffice?)

Re: Laptops which run Arch

I've also had IBM Thinkpad X30, And T500 and HP TC4400. Thinkpads worked great. TC4400 also works pretty well except for bezel buttons that are supposed to be used with stylus - needed patching http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=de … tid=525126. Wacom display itself worked fine.

I've also had IBM Thinkpad X30, And T500 and HP TC4400. Thinkpads worked great. TC4400 also works pretty well except for bezel buttons that are supposed to be used with stylus - needed patching http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=de … tid=525126. Wacom display itself worked fine.

edit: typo

Just bought a refurbished X200 (still on the way), so it's good to know it won't be too problematic. The one I got has a P8400 (@2.26GHz, 3MB L2 cache) processor, though, 2GB RAM (though I'll upgrade to 3, as I already have a module lying around) and a 160GB HDD (7200 rpm). I may be getting an SSD in the meantime, too. Curiously enough, I've had an X31 before, and I surely missed having a Thinkpad. Best laptop I've ever had... Thought about the X220, but I hate touchpads and they ditched the incredible Thinkpad keyboard. Also I don't really need that much power. Been using a laptop with an SU2300 for a couple of years now, so I'll notice a big difference anyway.

I read somewhere there were problems with the Intel 4500MHD, but I have the same graphics chip on my Acer 1410 and I have no problems there, whatsoever.

Re: Laptops which run Arch

I got mine used also. Would not call it refurbished: battery latch is broken and it was pretty dirty . Good deal for 150€ though.

I highly recommend some SSD, boots in 15s to XFCE and from that 2/3 is POST. Everything opens instantaneously, as it should as the Vertex 3 saturates the SATA bus.

I don't have high faith for the reliability of the disk though. Actually got it for 90€ from friend who got it back from warranty but had already bought a new one. But who uses laptop that is carried around for storing important data anyway?

Onyros wrote:

I read somewhere there were problems with the Intel 4500MHD, but I have the same graphics chip on my Acer 1410 and I have no problems there, whatsoever.

Intel Wifi Link 5300 (AGN) workswebcam worksaudio worksbuttons work (and has the thinklight of course which I much prefer to back light keyboard)Bluetooth should work, though haven't really used it for anything yet.

I run arch with Xfce on the little beast, is a bit slow, but really stable. The battery is the original (2005) one, lasts for 1,5 hours when working (!!!). Due to the fact that it is a centrino processor, the system load gets often above 1, it can be a bit annoying, but the machine was really cheap (about 100 $) , so I don't complain. The memory usage on the other hand never got above 512 MB.On the install, everything worked out of the box ( you just have to be sure to install the ipw2200-fw package too for the wireless)It is surely not the best machine you can have, but I think the components (mostly intel, as you see) are reliable.

And please, check the keyboard layout by googling it, THERE IS NO WINDOWS KEY!

( Trying to print a "powered by Arch" sticker )

Last edited by scar (2012-06-14 08:11:51)

“The future has already arrived. It's just not evenly distributed yet.”― William Gibson

Re: Laptops which run Arch

That article is from February of *last* year, and as such, it's outdated. There is h264 acceleration on 4500HD, but it's possible you need to compile a special branch of libva to get it, and I've seen a few mentions that it doesn't reliably. No personal experience though, so who knows, maybe it works fine. I only have experience with Ironlake (the successor to 4500HD), where it does work fine.

Re: Laptops which run Arch

*screams*. Thou shalt not use Alienware. You can build a PC for much less. Also, I find it pointless running such a resource-friendly system on a powerful machine.

"... being a Linux user is sort of like living in a house inhabited by a large family of carpenters and architects. Every morning when you wake up, the house is a little different. Maybe there is a new turret, or some walls have moved. Or perhaps someone has temporarily removed the floor under your bed." - Unix for Dummies, 2nd Edition

Re: Laptops which run Arch

That article is from February of *last* year, and as such, it's outdated.

I was living in the past, somehow I read that it was from February *this* year. It seems that h264 acceleration works, I get about 30% cpu usage from top when playing http://www.digital-digest.com/movies/Me … ailer.html. Are there some suggested benchmarks/ways to make sure btw?

I also need to retract my "works out of the box" statement a little bit: needed to add acpi_osi=Linux to kernel command line to get mute button to work (volume up and volume down were fine). And power button still does not register X events . Not a big deal, I usually just sleep the machine rather than turn it off.

Setup with EFI was annoying, i gave it up after 3 unsuccesful tries.It came out lenovo had a bug in EFI....Only the combination of Archboot and GRUB2 and BIOS without EFI is booting succesfully.

The SSD works just like any other, although it is an mSATA SSD.It takes up 3 x 5 cm of space, so i can have two drives in a 12,5 inch laptop.

Overall i had a really good experience with linux support on this laptop.When using a DE like GNOME almost everything works out of the box.Only powersaving had to be tweaked, and the fingerprint login requires editing pam files.

Re: Laptops which run Arch

I got this as a nice portable laptop to delve into the linux kernel, after years of Mac/Unix use. I'm currently running a tmux based console only environment, so I cant speak to touchpad utility, but after some shell scripting I've got wireless, brightness/audio control, special keys, etc. all up and running. Arch has been great so far, easily configured/extended by a curious user. I completely recommend the laptop.

Re: Laptops which run Arch

Except for getting wifi to work, I never had any problems. Installed Arch on two older Sony Vaio, and on my Lenovo Ideapad Z570. This one needed some work on the wireless part (which honestly freaked me out because at the time I wasnt very experienced with Linux), but in the end all that I needed to do was to blacklist the module acer_wmi. The specs of my Lenovo:

Re: Laptops which run Arch

Lenovo Z470

Everything worked without having to mess with modules or firmware.

There is a hardware problem with the keyboard involving the soft touch media keys. They seem to be activated randomly and will not stop until power is cut(Shut down or suspend work, restart doesn't). I have not found a complete solution, but not having those keys bound seems to help.

Re: Laptops which run Arch

Lenovo ThinkPad E520 (i5 2.3GHz, Intel HD 3000 Graphics)

In the past, there was a WiFi problem (the kernel loaded conflicting modules), but that seems to have been fixed now).

Multimedia keys (Mute, volume up, down, skipping tracks) works fine in Gnome, Volume Up/Down did not work in KDE, but Mute did.Calculater key works correctly, but the Explorer/Internet/Search keys don't, and cannot be properly configured in the Gnome Keyboard Settings.

Re: Laptops which run Arch

Re: Laptops which run Arch

Just wanting to reply here that the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15" (0302A22) works perfectly with Arch. Wifi, webcam, microphone, sound, and everything else worked right out of the box. This was the easiest Arch install I've ever done on a laptop. Very pleased!

Last edited by phlux (2012-06-21 02:25:26)

“If you expect to enter the Pearly Gates and walk those streets of gold, you must remember the password: Roll Tide Roll." - Paul Bear Bryant

Re: Laptops which run Arch

I ended up installing Arch via the latest Archboot (2012.06 2k12-R3); neither the current official installer (2011-08-19) nor the latest releng installer (2012-06-05) worked for me.

I haven't been able to get the hardware microphone mute key working, and I'm still playing with the trackpad settings. (The trackpad is way too sensitive out of the box, but that's no different from how it behaves under Windows.) Other than that, I have nothing but wonderful things to say about this machine. The keyboard on the X230 is easily the best I've ever used.

Re: Laptops which run Arch

Lenovo X201 Tablet.Intel i7 L620

Originally installed and run from a Mushkin 16gb flashdrive for about 6 months, made the jump to a direct install a month ago. Everything works great out of the box, including wacom tablet. Needed additional script for rotation and had to set the Fn keys manually in my openbox rc.xml. It's probably say which buttons worked out of the box: mute, brightness up/down, and trackpoint/touchpad switch. Also need to set acpi settings (lid close/open and plugged/unplugged).